Londoners leave 10,000 mobiles per month in cabs

By Natasha Lomas on 18 September 2008, 10:03am

Londoners are leaving 10,000 mobile phones in the back of black cabs every month -- or almost three per taxi.

Capital dwellers have left an eye-watering 55,843 mobile phones in taxis over the last six months, according to a survey by Credant Technologies, along with 6,193 other handheld devices such as laptops, iPods and memory sticks. According to the Public Carriage Office, there are currently 21,729 black cabs in London.

But don't fret: 80 per cent of the London cabbies surveyed claimed these lost gadgets and their owners were eventually reunited. The chances of getting lost gadgetry back in New York are less good however: only 66 per cent of the taxi drivers said they hand gadgets back into the depots at the end of the day.

Forgetfulness is not the preserve of gadget-owners. Other belongings left in cabs include a sawn-off shotgun, false teeth, 12 dead pheasants, a variety of pets, toilet seats, funeral ashes, £2,700 in cash and even a couple of children.

The survey is based on interviews with 300 London licensed taxi drivers and 300 in Manhattan, New York. -Natasha Lomas